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Abstract This research delved into the influence of mesoporous silica’s surface charge density on the adsorption of Cu2+. The synthesis of mesoporous silica employed the hydrothermal method, with pore size controlled by varying the length of trimethylammonium bromide (CnTAB, n = 12, 14, 16) chains. Gas adsorption techniques and transmission electron microscopy characterized the mesoporous silica structure. Surface charge densities of the mesoporous silica were determined through potentiometric titration, while surface hydroxyl densities were assessed using the thermogravimetric method. Subsequently, batch adsorption experiments were conducted to study the adsorption of Cu2+ in mesoporous silica, and the process was comprehensively analyzed using Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and L3 edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES). The research findings suggest a positive correlation between the pore size of mesoporous silica, its surface charge density, and the adsorption capacity for Cu2+. More specifically, as the pore size increases within the 3–4.1 nm range, the surface charge density and the adsorption capacity for Cu2+ also increase. Our findings provide valuable insights into the relationship between the physicochemical properties of mesoporous silica and the adsorption behavior of Cu2+, offering potential applications in areas such as environmental remediation and catalysis.

Abstract Cadmium‐free AgInZnS (AIZS) quantum dots (QDs) have garnered significant research interest for applications in light‐emitting diodes (LEDs); however, their performance remains limited by insulating long‐chain ligands. In this study, highly fluorescent orange‐emitting AIZS QDs are synthesized by replacing long‐chain 1‐dodecanethiol (DDT) with short‐chain 1‐octanethiol (OTT), achieving photoluminescence quantum yields of up to 80% in solution and 60% in film. The incorporation of OTT in combination with oleic acid and oleylamine as co‐capping ligands enabled excellent dispersion of the QDs in non‐polar solvents. The resulting OTT‐capped AIZS QDs exhibited improved film smoothness and reduced nonradiative recombination. Furthermore, all‐solution‐processed QD light‐emitting diodes (QLEDs) are fabricated comprising indium tin oxide/poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate/hole transporting layer/AIZS QDs/ZnO electron transporting layer/Al. The effects of OTT capping and the thickness of the AIZS emitting layer on device performance are systematically evaluated. As a result, the QLEDs demonstrated enhanced luminance and current efficiency, reaching 515 cd m−2 and 0.4 cd A−1 respectively, representing improvements of over 50% and 33% compared to devices utilizing DDT‐capped AIZS QDs. This study presents a facile and effective approach for developing high‐brightness AIZS QLEDs.

Enormous patients with gastric cancer (GC) are insensitive to chemotherapy and targeted therapy without the chance of radical surgery, so immunotherapy may supply a novel choice for them. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has the advantages of higher specificity, stronger lethality, and longer-lasting efficacy, and it has the potential for GC in the future. However, its application still faces numerous obstacles in terms of accuracy, efficacy, and safety. Cytokines can mediate the migration, proliferation, and survival of immune cells, regulate the duration and strength of immune responses, and are involved in the occurrence of severe side effects in CAR-T cell therapy. The expression levels of specific cytokines are associated with the genesis, invasion, metastasis, and prognosis of GC. Applications of cytokines and their receptors in CAR-T cell therapy have emerged, and various cytokines and their receptors have contributed to improving CAR-T cell anti-tumor capabilities. Large amounts of central cytokines in this therapy include chemokines, interleukins (ILs), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and colony-stimulating factors (CSFs). Meanwhile, researchers have explored the combination therapy in treating GC, and several approaches applied to other malignancies can also be considered as references. Therefore, our review comprehensively outlines the biological functions and clinical significance of cytokines and summarizes current advances and innovative strategies for harnessing cytokines to optimize CAR-T cell therapy for GC.

Background Submucosal fibrosis is associated with adverse events of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). The present study mainly aimed to establish a predictive model for submucosal fibrosis in patients with early gastric cancer (EGC) undergoing ESD.Methods Eligible patients with EGC, identified at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University from April 2013 to December 2023, were retrospectively included and randomly split into a training set and a validation set in a 7:3 ratio. Logistic regression analyses were used to pinpoint the risk factors for submucosal fibrosis. A nomogram was developed and confirmed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration plots, Hosmer-Lemeshow (H-L) tests, and decision curve analysis (DCA) curves. Besides, a predictive model for severe submucosal fibrosis was further conducted and tested.Results A total of 516 cases in the training group and 220 cases in the validation group were recruited. The nomogram for submucosal fibrosis contained the following items: tumour location (long axis), tumour location (short axis), ulceration, and biopsy pathology. ROC curves showed high efficiency with an area under the ROC of 0.819 in the training group, and 0.812 in the validation group. Calibration curves and H-L tests indicated good consistency. DCA proved the nomogram to be clinically beneficial. Furthermore, the four items were also applicable for a nomogram predicting severe fibrosis, and the model performed well.Conclusion The predictive models, initially constructed in this study, were validated as convenient and feasible for endoscopists to predict submucosal fibrosis and severe fibrosis in patients with EGC undergoing ESD.

With the escalating incidence and mortality rates of cancer, there is an ever-growing emphasis on the research of anticancer drugs. Cordycepin, the primary nucleoside antibiotic isolated from Cordyceps militaris, has emerged as a remarkable agent for cancer prevention and treatment. Functioning as a natural targeted antitumor drug, cordycepin assumes an increasingly pivotal role in cancer therapy. This review elucidates the mechanisms of cordycepin in inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, inducing apoptosis, as well as its capabilities in suppressing angiogenesis and metastasis. Moreover, the immunomodulatory effects of cordycepin in cancer treatment are explored. Additionally, the current status, challenges, and future prospects of cordycepin application in clinical trials are briefly discussed. The objective is to provide a valuable reference for the utilization of cordycepin in cancer treatment.

Text sentiment analysis is an important task in natural language processing and has always been a hot research topic. However, in low-resource regions such as South Asia, where languages like Bengali are widely used, the research interest is relatively low compared to high-resource regions due to limited computational resources, flexible word order, and high inflectional nature of the language. With the development of quantum technology, quantum machine learning models leverage the superposition property of qubits to enhance model expressiveness and achieve faster computation compared to classical systems. To promote the development of quantum machine learning in low-resource language domains, we propose a quantum–classical hybrid architecture. This architecture utilizes a pretrained multilingual bidirectional encoder representations from transformer (BERT) model to obtain vector representations of words and combines the proposed batch upload quantum recurrent neural network (BUQRNN) and parameter nonshared batch upload quantum recurrent neural network (PN-BUQRNN) as feature extraction models for sentiment analysis in Bengali. Our numerical results demonstrate that the proposed BUQRNN structure achieves a maximum accuracy improvement of 0.993% in Bengali text classification tasks while reducing average model complexity by 12%. The PN-BUQRNN structure surpasses the BUQRNN structure once again and outperforms classical architectures in certain tasks.

Abstract POU5F1 plays an important role in maintaining the cancer stem cell (CSC) -like properties of gastric cancer (GC) cells. The impact of POU5F1 on the proliferation and metastasis of GC was examined, along with the potential of ATRA as a specific therapeutic agent for GC. The dysregulation of POU5F1 expression in GC tissues was analyzed using public databases and bioinformatics techniques, and the disparity in POU5F1 expression between normal gastric tissues and GC tissues was further assessed through western blot, RT-qPCR, and immunohistochemistry. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of POU5F1 on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells through both in vivo and in vitro experiments. Additionally, the effects of ATRA on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells were examined using in vivo and in vitro approaches. Our findings revealed a significant upregulation of POU5F1 in GC tissues, which was found to be associated with a poorer prognosis in patients with GC. Moreover, POU5F1 was observed to enhance the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells in vitro, as well as promote subcutaneous tumor growth and lung metastasis of GC cells in vivo. The overexpression of POU5F1 mechanistically triggers the process of Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by down-regulating E-Cadherin and up-regulating N-Cadherin and VIM. POU5F1 hinders the ubiquitination of TRAF6 through negative regulation of TRIM59, thereby facilitating the activation of the NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, the administration of ATRA effectively impedes the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells by suppressing the expression of POU5F1. The upregulation of POU5F1 elicits EMT, fosters the initiation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in GC cells, and stimulates the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of GC cells. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) can impede these POU5F1-induced effects, thereby potentially serving as an adjunctive therapeutic approach for GC.

This study advances the precision and efficiency of precipitation nowcasting, particularly under extreme weather conditions. Traditional forecasting methods struggle with precision, spatial feature generalization, and recognizing long-range spatial correlations, challenges that intensify during extreme weather events. The Enhanced Temporal Correlation Jump Prediction Network (ETCJ-PredNet) introduces a novel attention mechanism that optimally leverages spatiotemporal data correlations. This model scrutinizes and encodes information from previous frames, enhancing predictions of high-intensity radar echoes. Additionally, ETCJ-PredNet addresses the issue of gradient vanishing through an innovative jump connection strategy. Comparative experiments on the Moving Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology (Moving-MNIST) and Hong Kong Observatory Dataset Number 7 (HKO-7) validate that ETCJ-PredNet outperforms existing models, particularly under extreme precipitation conditions. Detailed evaluations using Critical Success Index (CSI), Heidke Skill Score (HSS), Probability of Detection (POD), and False Alarm Ratio (FAR) across various rainfall intensities further underscore its superior predictive capabilities, especially as rainfall intensity exceeds 30 dbz,40 dbz, and 50 dbz. These results confirm ETCJ-PredNet’s robustness and utility in real-time extreme weather forecasting.

Secondary metabolism is one of the important mechanisms by which fungi adapt to their living environment and promote survival and reproduction. Recent studies have shown that epigenetic regulation, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs, plays key roles in fungal secondary metabolism and affect fungal growth, survival, and pathogenicity. This review describes recent advances in the study of epigenetic regulation of fungal secondary metabolism. We discuss the way in which epigenetic markers respond to environmental changes and stimulate the production of biologically active compounds by fungi, and the feasibility of these new findings applied to develop new antifungal strategies and optimize secondary metabolism. In addition, we have deliberated on possible future directions of research in this field. A deeper understanding of epigenetic regulatory networks is a key focus for future research.

Mistletoes are ecologically important parasitic plants, with > 1600 species from five lineages worldwide. Mistletoe lineages exhibit distinct patterns of species diversification and host specificity, however, the mechanisms underlying these differences are poorly understood. In this study, we analysed a comprehensive parasite–host network, including 280 host species from 60 families and 22 mistletoe species from two lineages (Santalaceae and Loranthaceae) in Xishuangbanna, located in a biodiversity hotspot of tropical Asia. We identified the factors that predict the infection strength of mistletoes. We also detected host specificity and the phylogenetic signal of mistletoes and their hosts. We found that this interaction network could be largely explained by a model based on the relative abundance of species. Host infection was positively correlated with diameter at breast height and tree coverage, but negatively correlated with wood density. Overall, closely related mistletoe species tend to interact more often with similar hosts. However, the two lineages showed a significantly different network pattern. Rates of host generality were higher in Loranthaceae than in Santalaceae, although neither lineage showed phylogenetic signal for host generality. This study demonstrates that the neutral interaction hypothesis provides suitable predictions of the mistletoe–host interaction network, and mistletoe species show significant phylogenetic signals for their hosts. Our findings also indicate that high species diversification in Loranthaceae may be explained by high rates of host generality and the evolutionary history shared by Loranthaceae species with diverse host plants in the tropics.

Comparison of differences in the nutritional quality of different dahlia varieties could facilitate the selection of varieties with excellent nutritional quality. This would provide a basis for the resource evaluation and deployment of dahlia. In this study, this study determined the nutrition components in petals of 36 dahlia varieties at the complete flowering stage including soluble sugar, soluble protein, vitamin C, organic acid, anthocyanin, total phenol, flavonoid, and DPPH free radical scavenging rate. This study also examined the correlation between these indexes. In addition, the nutritional quality indexes of each variety were comprehensively analyzed using principal component analysis and cluster analysis. This study revealed that many Dahlia cultivars had significant differences in component content. The coefficient of variation of vitamin C content and coefficient of variation of organic acid content was the highest (51.94%) and the lowest (7.92%), respectively. The contents of soluble sugar, soluble protein, vitamin C, and organic acid in different varieties of dahlia ranged from 6.95 to 15.57 mg/g, 0.96 to 2.01 mg/g, 1.20 to 151.37 mg/100 g, and 0.38% to 1.10%, respectively. The total phenol content and anthocyanin content of active substances were 0.19 to 0.25 mg/g and 0.61 to 2.51 mg/g, respectively. The flavonoid content was 0.54 to 4.81 mg/g and the DPPH free radical scavenging rate was 0.12% to 0.67%. The correlation analysis showed that the eight indexes were largely correlated. Principal component analysis was used to extract five principal components and the cumulative variance contribution rate reached 81.39%. These findings suggested that a detailed analysis of soluble sugar, vitamin C, anthocyanin, organic acids, flavonoids, and DPPH free radical scavenging rate can be used as core indicators to evaluate the nutritional quality of dahlia. According to cluster analysis, 36 dahlia varieties can be grouped into five categories. This study shows that YH-C7 and YH-C4 had the best nutritional quality.

Abstract Fungi have evolved unique metabolic regulation mechanisms for adapting to the changing environments. One of the key features of fungal adaptation is the production of secondary metabolites (SMs), which are essential for survival and beneficial to the organism. Many of these SMs are produced in response to the environmental cues, such as light. In all fungal species studied, the Velvet complex transcription factor VeA is a central player of the light regulatory network. In addition to growth and development, the intensity and wavelength of light affects the formation of a broad range of secondary metabolites. Recent studies, mainly on species of the genus Aspergillus, revealed that the dimer of VeA-VelB and LaeA does not only regulate gene expression in response to light, but can also be involved in regulating production of SMs. Furthermore, the complexes have a wide regulatory effect on different types of secondary metabolites. In this review, we discussed the role of light in the regulation of fungal secondary metabolism. In addition, we reviewed the photoreceptors, transcription factors, and signaling pathways that are involved in light-dependent regulation of secondary metabolism. The effects of transcription factors on the production of secondary metabolites, as well as the potential applications of light regulation for the production of pharmaceuticals and other products were discussed. Finally, we provided an overview of the current research in this field and suggested potential areas for future research.

With the widespread use of mobile phones, laptops, and WIFI, the effects of radio frequency radiation (RFR) on human health are of increasing concern, and there are particular concerns about its reproductive toxicity. Studies have shown that the reproductive system is a sensitive target for RFR. In males, RFR is associated with decreased sperm quality and serum testosterone levels, but there are few studies on the biological effects of RFR by altering physical parameters on the male reproductive system. This paper introduced common sources of RFR, reviewed the toxic effects and mechanisms of RFR targeting male reproductive system from the aspects of spermatogenic cells, sperm structure, blood-testicular barrier, and testicular function, and analyzed male reproductive system related toxic effects of RFR by varying physical parameters including frequency, treatment duration, and specific absorption rate, so as to provide a theoretical basis and scientific basis for the safe and reasonable use of radio frequency electromagnetic field by humans and subsequent in-depth research.

The premise for formulating effective emission control strategies is to accurately and reasonably evaluate the actual emission level of vehicles. Firstly, the active subspace method is applied to set up a low-dimensional model of the relationship between CO2 emission and multivariate vehicle driving data, in which the vehicle specific power (VSP) is identified as the most significant factor on the CO2 emission factor, followed by speed. Additionally, acceleration and exhaust temperature had the least impact. It is inferred that the changes in data sampling transform the establishment of subspace matrices, affecting the calculation of eigenvector components and the fitting of the final quadratic response surface, so that the emission sensitivity and final fitting accuracy are impressionable by the data distribution form. For the VSP, the best fitting result can be obtained when the VSP conforms to a uniform distribution. Moreover, the Bayesian linear regression method accounts for fitting parameters between the VSP and CO2 emission factor with uncertainties derived from heteroscedastic measurement errors, and the values and distributions of the intercept and slope α and β are obtained. In general, the high-resolution inventory of the carbon emission factor of the tested vehicle is set up via systematically analyzing it, which brings a bright view of data processing in further counting the carbon footprint.

In the era of noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computing, the synergistic collaboration between quantum and classical computing models has emerged as a promising solution for tackling complex computational challenges. Long short-term memory (LSTM), as a popular network for modeling sequential data, has been widely acknowledged for its effectiveness. However, with the increasing demand for data and spatial feature extraction, the training cost of LSTM exhibits exponential growth. In this study, we propose the quantum convolutional long short-term memory (QConvLSTM) model. By ingeniously integrating classical convolutional LSTM (ConvLSTM) networks and quantum variational algorithms, we leverage the variational quantum properties and the accelerating characteristics of quantum states to optimize the model training process. Experimental validation demonstrates that, compared to various LSTM variants, our proposed QConvLSTM model outperforms in terms of performance. Additionally, we adopt a hierarchical tree-like circuit design philosophy to enhance the model’s parallel computing capabilities while reducing dependence on quantum bit counts and circuit depth. Moreover, the inherent noise resilience in variational quantum algorithms makes this model more suitable for spatiotemporal sequence modeling tasks on NISQ devices.

The direct discharge of rare earth wastewater causes the waste of resources and heavy metal pollution. This paper compared the adsorption behaviors of lanthanide ions on bentonite under sulfate and nitrate systems by examining the factors affecting the adsorption, such as adsorption time, pH, background electrolyte concentration, and initial rare earth ion concentration. It was shown that the sulfate system was more favorable for the adsorption of rare earth ions on the bentonite surface. The maximum adsorption capacity in the sulfate system was about 1.7 times that in the nitrate system. In contrast, the adsorption under the nitrate system was more sensitive to the changes in pH and background electrolyte concentration. The adsorption processes under both systems are spontaneous physical adsorption processes (ΔGθ are from −27.64 to −31.48 kJ/mol), and both are endothermic (ΔHθ are 10.38 kJ/mol for the nitrate and 7.53 kJ/mol for the sulfate) and entropy-increasing (ΔSθ are 61.54 J/mol for the nitrate and 76.24 J∙mol−1 for the sulfate) processes. This study helps to provide information about the optimizing process parameters for the adsorption treatment of rare earth wastewater using bentonite.

Introduction Gastric cancer (GC) diagnosed in the elderly population has become a serious public health problem worldwide. Given the combined effects of frailty and the consequences of cancer treatment, older individuals with GC are more likely than young patients to suffer from postoperative complications and poor clinical outcomes. Nutrition, functional capacity and psychological state-based multimodal prehabilitation, which is dominated by Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathway management, has been shown to reduce postoperative complications, promote functional recovery and decrease hospitalisation time in certain malignancies. However, no previous studies have investigated the clinical application of multimodal prehabilitation in frail older patients with GC.Methods and analysis The study is a prospective, multicentre randomised controlled trial in which a total of 368 participants who meet the inclusion criteria will be randomised into either a prehabilitation group or an ERAS group. The prehabilitation group will receive multimodal prehabilitation combined with ERAS at least 2 weeks before the gastrectomy is performed, including physical and respiratory training, nutritional support, and therapy and psychosocial treatment. The ERAS group patients will be treated according to the ERAS pathway. All interventions will be supervised by family members. The primary outcome measures are the incidence and severity of postoperative complications. Secondary outcomes include survival, functional capacity and other short-term postoperative outcomes. Overall, the multimodal prehabilitation protocol may improve functional capacity, reduce the surgical stress response and concomitant systemic inflammation, and potentially modulate the tumour microenvironment to improve short-term and long-term clinical outcomes and patients’ quality of life.Ethics and dissemination All procedures and participating centres of this study were approved by their respective ethics committees (QYFYKYLL 916111920). The final study results will be published separately in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration number NCT05352802.

Due to the harsh actual operating environment of the permanent magnet wind turbine, it is easy to break down and difficult to monitor. Therefore, the electromagnetic characteristics identification of major fault types of large-scale permanent magnet wind turbines is studied in this paper. The typical faults of rotor eccentricity, stator winding short circuit and permanent magnet demagnetization of permanent magnet wind turbines are analyzed theoretically. The wavelet analysis algorithm is used to decompose and reconstruct the abnormal electromagnetic signal waveform band, and the characteristic frequency of the electromagnetic signal is obtained when the fault occurs. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, a 3.680MW permanent magnet wind turbine was taken as the research object. Its physical simulation model was established, and an external circuit was built to carry out field co-simulation. The results show that the motor fault type can be determined by detecting the change rule of fault characteristic frequency in the spectrum diagram, and the electromagnetic characteristic analysis can be applied to the early monitoring of the permanent magnet wind turbine fault.

As a traditional Dai medicine, “Dai-Bai-Jie” is a kind of antidote, and its source plant was firstly recorded as Dregea sinensis. Currently, the source plant has been corrected as Marsdenia tenacissima. In order to further clarify the source plants of “Dai-Bai-Jie”, we carried out an integrated analysis of the source plants of “Dai-Bai-Jie” and its related species in this study. Our key results were as follows: (1) Phylogenetic relationship of Marsdenia and other species of Marsdenieae using three DNA fragments (psbD-trnT, trnL-trnF, ITS) showed that all “Dai-Bai-Jie” samples were supported as monophyletic with the sample of M. tenacissima, and were sister to M. cavaleriei. (2) Comparative analyses of morphological characters with type specimen proved that morphological characters of the “Dai-Bai-Jie” samples were consistent with those of the type specimen of M. tenacissima and obviously different from those of M. cavaleriei. In this study, the source plant of “Dai-Bai-Jie” was identified as the species M. tenacissima. Meanwhile, it was easy to discriminate from M. cavaleriei in the leaf and floral characters. According to both morphological and molecular evidence, it has been confirmed that the source plant of “Dai-Bai-Jie” is M. tenacissima that can be used for rapid and accurate authentication of medicinal herbs in the market, and also benefit for the development and utilization of the “Dai-bai-jie” medicine in future.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors and antiangiogenic agents have shown some activity in patients with late-stage gastric cancer. Here the authors report the results of a phase II trial of neoadjuvant anti-PD1 (camrelizumab), antiangiogenic agent (apatinib), and chemotherapy (S-1 ± Oxaliplatin) in stage T4a/bN + M0 gastric cancer patients.

Many surface processes of clay minerals require in-depth understanding of their surface electrical properties, such as surface charge density, surface potential distribution, etc In this paper, electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) were used to study the surface charge densities, surface potentials, electric field intensities, and electric field force gradients of three common clay minerals: kaolinite, montmorillonite, and illite. The properties were directly imaged, and the average surface permanent charge densities of kaolinite, montmorillonite, and illite were obtained to be −0.0060, −2.136, and −5.456 μ C m ^−2 , respectively. In addition, a good linear relationship was found between the surface charge densities obtained by KPFM and the layer charges calculated from the mineral chemical formulas of three clay minerals.

This paper provides a brief review on modeling of composite structures. Composite structures in this paper refer to any structure featuring anisotropy and heterogeneity, including but not limited to their traditional meaning of composite laminates made of unidirectional fiber-reinforced composites. Common methods used in modeling of composite structures, including the axiomatic method, the formal asymptotic method, and the variational asymptotic method, are illustrated in deriving the classical lamination theory for the composite laminated plates. Future research directions for modeling composite structures are also pointed out.

The enrichment process of rare earth elements in ion-adsorbed rare earth ores and bauxite is potentially related to the adsorption of rare earth elements by gibbsite. In this paper, lanthanum and yttrium were selected as surrogates of light rare earth elements and heavy rare earth elements, respectively. The effects of adsorption time, solution pH, and background electrolyte concentration on the adsorption of rare earth ions by gibbsite were investigated through batch adsorption experiments. The results showed that the adsorption of rare earth ions by gibbsite can approach equilibrium in 72 h. There is mainly electrostatic repulsion between gibbsite and rare earth ions at pH 4–7, and the adsorption efficiency increases with the increase in solution pH value and background electrolyte concentration. The adsorption process of rare earth ions by gibbsite is more consistent with the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir single-layer adsorption models. Moreover, based on the structural correlation between clay minerals and gibbsite, the causes for the differences in the adsorption behaviors of rare earth elements on the minerals are discussed. The results of this study help to understand the role of aluminum hydroxide in the migration and fate of rare earth elements in epigenetic environments.

Malicious attacks can cause significant damage to the structure and functionality of complex networks. Previous research has pointed out that the ability of networks to withstand malicious attacks becomes weaker when networks are coupled. However, traditional research on improving the robustness of networks has focused on individual low-order or higher-order networks, lacking studies on coupled networks with higher-order and low-order networks. This paper proposes a method for optimizing the robustness of coupled networks with higher-order and low-order based on a simulated annealing algorithm to address this issue. Without altering the network’s degree distribution, the method rewires the edges, taking the robustness of low-order and higher-order networks as joint optimization objectives. Making minimal changes to the network, the method effectively enhances the robustness of coupled networks. Experiments were conducted on Erdős–Rényi random networks (ER), scale-free networks (BA), and small-world networks (SW). Finally, validation was performed on various real networks. The results indicate that this method can effectively enhance the robustness of coupled networks with higher-order and low-order.

Polyoxymethylene Dimethyl Ether (PODEn) is a promising diesel additive that can reduce particulate matter (PM) emission effectively, yet the changes in chemical and physical characteristics of PM emissions due to the application of PODEn-diesel blended fuel remain largely unexplored. This laboratory study investigates the effects of PODE3–diesel blended fuels (10, 20, and 30 vol% of PODE3 mixed with diesel, denoted as P10, P20, and P30, respectively) on diesel engine emissions at 30% and 60% engine loads. Black carbon (BC) and organic aerosol (OA) were characterized in real time by a combination of a soot-particle aerosol mass spectrometer (SP-AMS) and a seven-wavelength aethalometer. Our results show that PODE3 can significantly reduce both OA and BC emissions at both engine loads, with P20 producing the largest total PM mass reductions (>84%). The changes in the contribution of refractory oxygenated fragments to BC mass (i.e., C3O2+/C3+ and C3O+/C3+) indicate that PODE3 can reduce the functionality of soot surface/nanostructure. This is the first work showing that PODE3 can affect the mixing state of BC and OA in diesel engine exhaust. Increasing PODE3 blended volume can reduce the total fraction contribution of particle types that were composed of notably amounts of BC by mass. Furthermore, clustering analysis of single-particle data can identify two OA-dominated particle classes that were dominated by hydrocarbon fragments (CxHy+), and one of them had higher signal contribution from high molecular weight compounds. Lastly, the absorption Ångström exponent of BC (AAEBC) can be enhanced with PODE3 blended volume for both engine loads, and brown carbon (i.e., a light absorbing fraction of OA) can contribute up to ∼5% to the total aerosol absorption at the wavelength of 370 nm. Overall, this work provides insights into the potential impacts of PODEn blended fuel application on the chemical and optical properties of BC and OA emitted from diesel engine combustion.

The transverse relaxation time (T2) is an important indicator to determine the fundamental sensitivity limit of alkali-metal atomic magnetometers. We propose a method based on the principle of longitudinal field modulation that obtains T2 by scanning the transverse static magnetic field. The previous technique of extracting T2 from the linewidth of the modulation frequency and the traditional magnetic-resonance-broadening-fitting method are also described. The T2 measurements of Cesium (Cs) atoms are carried out through these three methods, whose operating environments are applicable to different atomic magnetometers, respectively. The method that we propose can be used for obtaining the T2 of Cs atoms as well as detecting the transverse static magnetic field and is customized for the study of the Cs–Xenon ensemble for the construction of nuclear magnetic resonance gyroscopes. Moreover, the relationship between the limit sensitivities and cell temperatures is further studied in the experiment.

Abstract To investigate the clinical value and significance of preoperative three-dimensional computerized tomography angiography (CTA) in laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer. The clinical data were analyzed retrospectively from 214 gastric cancer patients. We grouped according to whether to perform CTA, and we compared and analyzed the difference of the data between the two groups. The perigastric arteries were classified according to CTA images of patients in the CTA group. The celiac trunk was classified according to Adachi classification: Type I (118/125, 94.4%), Type II (3/125, 2.4%), Type III (0/125, 0%), Type IV (1/125, 0.8%), Type V (2/125, 1.6%), Type VI (1/125, 0.8%). Hepatic artery classification was performed according to Hiatt classification: Type I (102/125, 81.6%), Type II (9/125, 7.2%), Type III (6/125, 4.8%), Type IV (2/125, 1.6%), Type V (3/125, 2.4%), Type VI (0, 0%), Others (3/125, 2.4%). And this study combined vascular anatomy and surgical risk to establish a new splenic artery classification model. In comparison, the operation time, first exhaust time, and estimated blood loss in the CTA group were significantly lower than those in the non-CTA group. In addition, the blood loss in the CTA group combined with ICG (Indocyanine Green) labeled fluorescence laparoscopy was significantly less than that in the group without ICG labeled. Preoperative CTA could objectively evaluate patients' vascular route and variation and then help us avoid or decrease the risk of vascular injury and bleeding. When combined with ICG labeled fluorescence laparoscopy, it could further reduce the risk of iatrogenic injury during the operation and improve postoperative recovery.

Background: Intracorporeal oesophagojejunostomy is one of the key steps in laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG). At present, there is no widely accepted anastomosis technique in oesophagojejunostomy. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively studied 63 patients with gastric cancer who underwent LTG. Two types of anastomosis techniques have been applied during LTG: the reverse puncture device (RPD) (28 patients) and overlap (35 patients). Results: A total of 63 patients (51 males and 12 females: mean age = 58 years and mean body mass index [BMI] = 26.3 kg/m2) were enrolled in this study. There were no significant difference in age, BMI, duration of surgery, duration of anastomosis, blood loss, post-operative hospital stay, tumour location, tumour size, degree of tumour differentiation, Borrmann type, total number of lymph nodes, number of positive lymph nodes, hospital stay, hospitalisation costs, intra-operative complications, post-operative complications and prognosis between the RPD group and the overlap group. RPD group showed a significant advantage in terms of the distance between the top border of tumours and the top resection margin (P < 0.001). We further found that the oesophageal lateral negative surgical margin distance of the upper gastric cancer in the RPD group was significantly longer than that in the overlap group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Both the RPD and overlap techniques are safe and applicable in LTG. However, RPD has the advantage of obtaining an adequate safe margin compared with that of overlap technique, especially in patients with gastro-oesophageal junction carcinoma.

Purpose: Hyperprolactinaemia has been proposed to play a role in breast lesions pathophysiology. Thus far, controversial results have been reported for the relationship between hyperprolactinaemia and breast lesions. Moreover, the prevalence of hyperprolactinaemia in a population with breast lesions is scarcely reported. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of hyperprolactinaemia in Chinese premenopausal women with breast diseases, and explore the associations between hyperprolactinaemia with different clinical characteristics.Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study performed in the department of breast surgery of Qilu hospital of Shandong University. Overall, 1,461 female patients who underwent the serum prolactin (PRL) level assay before breast surgery from January 2019 to December 2020 were included. Patients were divided into two groups: before and after menopause. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 software.Results: The results showed an elevated PRL level in 376 of the 1,461 female patients with breast lesions (25.74%). Furthermore, the proportion of hyperprolactinemia among premenopausal patients with breast disease (35.75%, 340/951) was significantly higher than among postmenopausal patients with breast disease (7.06%, 36/510). In premenopausal patients, the proportion of patients with hyperprolactinaemia and the mean serum PRL level were significantly higher in those diagnosed with fibroepithelial tumours (FETs) and in younger patients (aged < 35 years) than in those with non-neoplastic lesions and in those aged ≥ 35 years (both p < 0.05). Especially, the prolactin level exhibited steady ascending tendency for positive correlation with FET.Conclusion: Hyperprolactinaemia is prevalent in Chinese premenopausal patients with breast diseases, especially in those with FETs, which implies a potential association, to some extent, between the PRL levels in various breast diseases.

The energy transition from hydrocarbon-based energy sources to renewable and carbon-free energy sources such as wind, solar and hydrogen is facing increasing demands. The decarbonization of global transportation could come true via applying carbon-free fuel such as ammonia, especially for internal combustion engines (ICEs). Although ammonia has advantages of high hydrogen content, high octane number and safety in storage, it is uninflammable with low laminar burning velocity, thus limiting its direct usage in ICEs. The purpose of this review paper is to provide previous studies and current research on the current technical advances emerging in assisted combustion of ammonia. The limitation of ammonia utilization in ICEs, such as large minimum ignition energy, lower flame speed and more NOx emission with unburned NH3, could be solved by oxygen-enriched combustion, ammonia–hydrogen mixed combustion and plasma-assisted combustion (PAC). In dual-fuel or oxygen-enriched NH3 combustion, accelerated flame propagation speeds are driven by abundant radicals such as H and OH; however, NOx emission should be paid special attention. Furthermore, dissociating NH3 in situ hydrogen by non-noble metal catalysts or plasma has the potential to replace dual-fuel systems. PAC is able to change classical ignition and extinction S-curves to monotonic stretching, which makes low-temperature ignition possible while leading moderate NOx emissions. In this review, the underlying fundamental mechanism under these technologies are introduced in detail, providing new insight into overcoming the bottleneck of applying ammonia in ICEs. Finally, the feasibility of ammonia processing as an ICE power source for transport and usage highlights it as an appealing choice for the link between carbon-free energy and power demand.

Nowcasting has emerged as a critical foundation for services including heavy rain alerts and public transportation management. Although widely used for short-term forecasting, models such as TrajGRU and PredRNN exhibit limitations in predicting low-intensity rainfall and low temporal resolution, resulting in suboptimal performance during infrequent heavy rainfall events. To tackle these challenges, we introduce a spatio-temporal sequence and generative adversarial network model for short-term precipitation forecasting based on radar data. By enhancing the ConvLSTM model with a pre-trained TransGAN generator, we improve feature resolution. We first assessed the model’s performance on the Moving MNIST dataset and subsequently validated it on the HKO-7 dataset. Employing metrics such as Mean Squared Error (MSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM), Critical Success Index (CSI), Probability of Detection (POD), and False Alarm Ratio (FAR), we compare our model’s performance to existing models. Experimental results reveal that our proposed ConvLSTM-TransGAN model effectively captures weather system evolution and surpasses the performance of other traditional models.

Abstract Background Mediastinal lymph node metastases (MLNM) are not rare in thyroid cancer, but their treatment has not been extensively studied. This study aimed to explore the preliminary application of video mediastinoscopy-assisted superior mediastinal dissection in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid carcinoma with mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Materials and methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical pathologic data and short-term outcomes of thyroid cancer patients with suspicious MLNM treated with video mediastinoscopy-assisted mediastinal dissection at our institution from 2017 to 2020. Results Nineteen patients were included: 14 with medullary thyroid carcinoma and five with papillary thyroid carcinoma. Superior mediastinal nodes were positive in nine (64.3%) patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma and in four (80.0%) patients with papillary carcinoma. No fatal bleeding occurred. There were three cases of temporary recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy postoperatively, one of which was bilateral. Four patients had temporary hypocalcemia requiring supplementation, one had a chyle fistula, and one developed wound infection after the procedure. Postoperative serum molecular markers decreased in all patients. One patient died of cancer while the other 18 patients remained disease-free, with a median follow-up of 33 months. Conclusion Video mediastinoscopy-assisted superior mediastinal dissection can be performed relatively safely in patients with suspicious MLNM. This diagnostic and therapeutic approach may help control locoregional recurrences.

The application of 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) as an alternative fuel for internal combustion engines has been gaining popularity. However, it has rarely been studied in previous research on the chemical kinetics of DMF for engine combustion simulations. In the present study, a reduced n-heptane/toluene/DMF-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) reaction mechanism containing only 78 species amongst 190 reactions was proposed and applied to predict the combustion and emissions of a diesel engine using diesel/DMF blend fuel. First, a detailed reaction mechanism for DMF from the literature was chosen and reduced using combined mechanism reduction methods under engine-relevant conditions. Second, the reduced mechanism of DMF was incorporated into an existing reduced n-heptane/toluene-PAH mechanism to establish a three-component chemistry mechanism. Third, the predictive capability of the combined mechanism was improved by adjusting the rate constants of selected gas-phase reactions. Subsequently, the proposed three-component mechanism was compared and validated with experimental measurements of shock tube ignition delay times and premixed flame species profiles acquired from published papers. Moreover, new experimental data from a conventional diesel engine were used to evaluate the developed mechanism. Overall, the predicted results obtained by this proposed reduced n-heptane/toluene/DMF-PAH mechanism are in reasonable agreement with the available experiments.

Background and AimTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of laparoscopy distal gastrectomy using a linear stapler compared with a circular stapler in patients with gastric cancer.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 173 patients who underwent laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer at a single center from January 2018 to December 2020. Patients were categorized into the linear stapler group and the circular stapler group. General data, intraoperative and postoperative outcomes, postoperative pathological results, postoperative complications, and postoperative follow-up in the two groups were compared and analyzed.ResultsThe operation time (208.76 ± 32.92 vs. 226.69 ± 26.92 min, p < 0.05), anastomosis time (71.87 ± 9.50 vs. 90.56 ± 3.18 min, p < 0.05), time to first flatus (68.60 ± 25.96 vs. 76.16 ± 21.05 h, p < 0.05), time to the first sip of water (3.66 ± 0.61 vs. 4.07 ± 0.77 days, p < 0.05), and time to the first liquid diet (4.43 ± 1.02 vs. 5.03 ± 1.70 days, p < 0.05) were significantly shorter in the linear stapler group. In addition, the highest postoperative body temperature within 3 days (37.4 ± 0.61 vs. 37.7 ± 0.61, p < 0.05) after the operation, white blood cell count (WBC) on the 3rd day (9.07 ± 2.52 vs. 10.01 ± 2.98 × 10∧9/L, p < 0.05), and average gastric tube drainage within 3 days (36.65 ± 24.57 vs. 52.61 ± 37 ml, p < 0.05) were also significantly lower in the linear stapler group.ConclusionsBoth circular and linear staplers are safe and feasible for gastrointestinal reconstruction in laparoscopic distal gastrectomy. In contrast, a linear stapler has advantages over a circular stapler in shortening operation time and accelerating the postoperative recovery of patients.

ObjectivesTo compare the short- and long-term outcomes of totally laparoscopic gastrectomy (TLG) with laparoscopic-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) in gastric cancer (GC) patients and evaluate the efficacy and safety of TLG.MethodsThis retrospective study was based on GC patients who underwent laparoscopic radical gastrectomy in the Qilu Hospital from January 2017 to December 2020. The groups’ variables were balanced by using the propensity score-based inverse probability of treatment weighting (PS-IPTW). The primary outcomes were 3-year relapse-free survival (RFS) and 3-year overall survival (OS). Postoperative recovery and complications were the secondary outcomes.ResultsA total of 250 GC patients were included in the study. There were no significant differences in baseline and pathological features between the TLG and the LAG groups after the PS-IPTW. TLG took around 30 min longer than LAG, while there were more lymph nodes obtained and less blood loss throughout the procedure. TLG patients had less wound discomfort than LAG patients in terms of short-term prognosis. There were no significant differences between groups in the 3-year RFS rate [LAG vs. TLG: 78.86% vs. 78.00%; hazard ratio (HR) = 1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.55–2.35; p = 0.721] and the 3-year OS rate (LAG vs. TLG: 78.17% vs. 81.48%; HR = 0.98, 95% CI, 0.42–2.27; p = 0.955). The lymph node staging was found to be an independent risk factor for tumor recurrence and mortality in GC patients with laparoscopic surgery. The subgroup analysis revealed similar results of longer operation time, less blood loss, and wound discomfort in totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy, while the totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy showed benefit only in terms of blood loss.ConclusionTLG is effective and safe in terms of short- and long-term outcomes, with well-obtained lymph nodes, decreased intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative wound discomfort, which may be utilized as an alternative to LAG.

BackgroundThis study aimed to observe the application and evaluate the feasibility and safety of indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence technology in laparoscopic radical gastrectomy (LRG).MethodsPatients who underwent LRG & D2 lymphadenectomy at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University were included between January 2018 and August 2019. According to whether endoscopic injection of ICG was performed, patients were assigned to the ICG group (n=107) and the control group (n=88). The clinicopathologic features, retrieved lymph nodes, postoperative recovery, and follow-up data were compared between the two groups.ResultsBaseline characteristics are comparable. The ICG group had a significantly larger number of lymph nodes retrieved (49.55 ± 12.72 vs. 44.44 ± 10.20, P0.05) or DFS (86.0% vs. 80.7%, P>0.05).ConclusionsICG fluorescence technology in laparoscopic radical gastrectomy has advantages in LN dissection, operation time, and intraoperative blood loss. The 2-year OS and 2-year DFS rates between the two groups were comparable. In conclusion, ICG fluorescence technology is feasible and safe.

Abstract Background Thyroid nodules are highly prevalent, with fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) commonly used as the standard preoperative tool for their diagnosis. However, the method classifies some of the samples as indeterminate, leading to unnecessary surgery. In this study, we evaluated the value of next‐generation sequencing (NGS) for cancer diagnosis in indeterminate thyroid nodules. Materials and methods We performed a prospective, blinded cohort study on 189 patients, with 196 Bethesda III/IV nodules. Specifically, we analyzed DNA mutations and RNA fusions across the FNA samples using NGS, then reviewed follow‐up reports from 84 nodules following definitive surgery, to determine the assay performance. Results Enough DNA and RNA were obtained in 188 nodules, revealing mutations or fusions in 34.6% of them. The most frequently mutated genes were RAS, followed by BRAF V600E. Based on surgical pathology, 39% (33/84) and 4.8% (4/84) of the nodules were malignant and intermediate, respectively. According to the risk stratification criteria, 28 cases were categorized High‐Risk group, all of the resected nodules (n = 20) were malignant. Twenty‐four thyroid nodules were in the Low‐Risk group, 28.6% (4/14) surgically removed nodules were malignant. In the Benign‐Like category, 18.0% (9/50) were malignant. Five out of 13 nodules with benign mutations were resected, including SPOP, EZH1, and ZNF148, all of them were benign. If genetic alterations annotated with High‐Risk or Low‐Risk was considered as positive, and negative if Benign‐Like. Multigene testing revealed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 73%, 80%, 71%, and 82%, respectively. In addition, if four intermediate nodules were counted as malignant, the PPV and NPV were 71% and 74%. Conclusion Our results allow for further stratification of Bethesda III/IV thyroid nodules based on the risk of their malignancy. SPOP, EZH1, and ZNF148 mutations may be used as benign markers.

Great efforts have been made over the last few decades in understanding of the mechanisms and phenomenology of soot formation and burnout in combustion systems. In this paper, theoretical advances in modelling soot formation and oxidation under engine circumstance are surveyed based on the published works, particularly focus on the practical soot modelling coupled with engine computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical studies. The types of soot models can be divided up into three main groups: empirical, semi-empirical and detailed soot model. With the development of computing technology and increasingly comprehensive soot fundamental knowledge, the semi-empirical phenomenological soot model with major generic processes of soot formation was proposed, which is one of the most extensively investigated soot models in recent years. It is highlighted with solving mathematical equations to get soot particle number density, soot volume and mass fraction. When coupled with fuel chemistry, the detailed soot model seeks to predict soot characteristics based on molecule structure, bringing further insight of the soot evolution and transient behavior of soot-relevant species. Therefore, the sooting tendency from engine combustion fueled with alternative and oxygenated fuels are able to be further explored, which is conductive to propose new engine technologies for soot mitigation and future fuel strategy.

Objective: Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is one of the important prognostic factors of early gastric cancer (EGC). Moreover, LNM is also important when choosing therapeutic intervention for EGC patients. The purpose of this study is to explore the risk factors of LNM in EGC and to discuss the corresponding treatment. Design: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 253 patients with EGC who underwent surgical therapy in our department between 2012 and 2015. Univariate analysis and Multivariate Cox regression were used to evaluate the independent risk factors of LNM. Results: LNM was present in 38 cases among 253 patients (15%). Univariate analysis showed an obvious correlation between LNM and tumour location, tumour size, depth of invasion, morphological classification, gross type of the lesion and venous invasion. Multivariate analysis indicated that poorly differentiated carcinoma, submucosal cancer, tumour size ≥2 cm and venous invasion were the independent risk factors for LNM. Conclusion: Tumour size, depth of invasion, morphological classification and blood vessel invasion were predictive risk factors for LNM in EGC. We propose that EGC patients with those risk factors should be accepted gastrectomy with LN dissection.

Introduction: At present, the main treatment of gastric cancer is surgical resection combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the most important part of which is radical gastrectomy. Laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer is difficult to operate, and whether it can achieve the same curative effect with the laparotomy is still controversial. Materials and Methods: This study retrospectively analysed the clinical data of 269 gastric cancer patients surgically treated by our medical team from May 2011 to December 2015 for comparative analysis of the clinical efficacy of laparoscopic-assisted radical gastrectomy and traditional open radical gastrectomy. Results: The laparoscopic surgery group had longer duration of surgery, less intra-operative blood loss, shorter post-operative exhaust time, shorter post-operative hospital stay and shorter timing of drain removal. The average number of harvested lymph nodes in the laparoscopic surgery group was 22.9 ± 9.5 per case. And in the laparotomy group the average number was 23.3 ± 9.9 per case. The difference had no statistical significance. With the increase of the number of laparoscopic surgical procedures, the amount of intra-operative blood loss gradually decreases, and the duration of surgery is gradually reduced. Conclusion: Laparoscopic radical gastrectomy is superior to open surgery in the aspects of intra-operative blood loss, post-operative exhaust time, post-operative hospital stay and timing of drain removal. With the number of laparoscopic radical gastrectomy cases increased, the duration of surgery is shortened and the amount of intra-operative blood loss will decrease.

Link prediction is a hot issue in information filtering. Link prediction algorithms, based on local similarity indices, are widely used in many fields due to their high efficiency and high prediction accuracy. However, most existing link prediction algorithms are available for unweighted networks, and there are relatively few studies for weighted networks. In the previous studies on weighted networks, some scholars pointed out that links with small weights play a more important role in link prediction and emphasized that weak-ties theory has a significant impact on prediction accuracy. On this basis, we studied the edges with different weights, and we discovered that, for edges with large weights, this weak-ties theory actually does not work; Instead, the weak-ties theory works in the prediction of edges with small weights. Our discovery has instructive implications for link predictions in weighted networks.

The advantages of the all-fiber optical current transformer include but are not limited to being small in size, having no magnetic saturation, exhibiting high measurement accuracy, and boasting strong electromagnetic interference resistance. However, the high cost of the all-fiber optical transformer limits its promotion and application in engineering. This paper proposes a design scheme of an independent double acquisition loop for the all-fiber optical current transformer based on the single optical path. Firstly, based on the closed-loop control mode and open-loop control mode, the two- channel sampling signal demand for relay protection, and the independent dual-acquisition loop design scheme of the all-fiber optical current transformer are proposed. Secondly, the reliability and economic feasibility of the scheme are demonstrated by an analysis of system failure and cost. The results show that the scheme can actualize the acquisition function of two independent all-fiber optical current transformer products on a single all-fiber current transformer in an integrated manner, which greatly reduces the cost of the all-fiber optical current transformer in engineering applications. Keywords: All-fiber optical current transformer, Acquisition circuit, Reliability

The pyrolytic behavior of organic matter inside nanopores was studied by simultaneous thermogravimetric/differential scanning calorimetry analyzer coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (STA/TG-FTIR). Nanoporous silica was prepared by a hydrothermal method using long-chain alkyl quaternary ammonium bromide (CnTAB, n = 12, 14) as a template. The pyrolytic behavior of CnTAB inside nanopores with different diameters was investigated and compared with that of CnTAB inside and outside nanopores. The results showed that the pyrolytic removal process consisted of the following features: 1) CnTAB underwent carbon chain decomposition and oxidation; 2) the DSC exothermal peak of CnTAB came mainly from its oxidative combustion, and the oxidative combustion temperature decreased with increasing pore size; 3) the CnTAB inside nanopores underwent crystallization–amorphous state phase transition, and CnTAB got trapped inside the calcined nanopores. In addition, the pyrolytic behavior of CnTAB inside the calcined nanopores was found to be similar to that of the uncalcined nanopores. This study aims to understand the storage and transformation processes of organic hydrocarbons under nanopore-confinement effect.

The higher-order structure of networks is a hot research topic in complex networks. It has received much attention because it is closely related to the functionality of networks, such as network transportation and propagation. For instance, recent studies have revealed that studying higher-order networks can explore hub structures in transportation networks and information dissemination units in neuronal networks. Therefore, the destruction of the connectivity of higher-order networks will cause significant damage to network functionalities. Meanwhile, previous works pointed out that the function of a complex network depends on the giant component of the original(low-order) network. Therefore, the network functionality will be influenced by both the low-order and its corresponding higher-order network. To study this issue, we build a network model of the interdependence of low-order and higher-order networks (we call it ILH). When some low-order network nodes fail, the low-order network’s giant component shrinks, leading to changes in the structure of the higher-order network, which further affects the low-order network. This process occurs iteratively; the propagation of the failure can lead to an eventual network crash. We conducted experiments on different networks based on the percolation theory, and our network percolation results demonstrated a first-order phase transition feature. In particular, we found that an ILH is more fragile than the low-order network alone, and an ILH is more likely to be corrupted in the event of a random node failure.

2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF2) has been recently regarded as a promising alternative engine fuel. However, the chemical reaction mechanism for MTHF2 combustion in the engine has not been reported to date. In this study, a reduced diesel/MTHF2 reaction mechanism with only 78 species among 233 reactions was constructed for diesel/MTHF2 dual-fuel engine simulations. Firstly, a diesel surrogate mechanism involving the sub-mechanisms of n-decane, iso-octane, methylcyclohexane (MCH), toluene, a reduced mechanism of C2-C3 species and a detailed mechanism of H2/CO/C1 was selected. Secondly, a skeletal MTHF2 mechanism containing 54 species and 294 reactions was formulated under engine-relevant conditions using combined mechanism reduction methods. Thirdly, a reduced sub-mechanism of MTHF2 oxidation with 11 species and 13 reactions was extracted and combined with the four-component diesel surrogate fuel mechanism. Subsequently, the reduced diesel/MTHF2 mechanism was obtained by improving the combined five-component mechanism based on sensitivity analysis. Finally, the proposed mechanism was validated with selected experimental data of ignition delay times, flame species concentrations and laminar flame speeds. In addition, the new measurements from diesel/MTHF2 dual-fuel engine combustion were obtained and then utilized to further assess the developed mechanism. Overall, the developed diesel/MTHF2 mechanism can be used for diesel and MTHF2 dual-fuel engine combustion simulation.

The elimination of iodide (I−) from water is a tough subject due to its low adsorption tendency and high mobility. In this work, MCM-41/Ag2O nanomaterials were prepared, characterized, and employed to adsorb I− from water. The Ag2O nanoparticles were dispersed homogeneously in the pores or at the surface of the MCM-41 support, and the Ag2O nanoparticles in the pores had small particles sizes due to the confinement of the mesoporous channel. The prepared MCM-41/Ag2O nanomaterials exhibited a higher specific surface area than previously reported Ag2O-based composites. The adsorption of I− by the nanomaterials was able to reach equilibrium at 180 min. The MCM-41/Ag2O nanomaterials showed a better adsorption capacity per unit mass of Ag2O than pure Ag2O nanoparticles and previously reported Ag2O-based composites prepared using other supports. Furthermore, the MCM-41/Ag2O nanomaterials exhibited high selectivity for I− in the presence of high concentrations of competitive anions, such as Cl− or Br−, and could function in a wide range of pH. The chemical reaction between Ag2O and I− and the surface adsorption were the main adsorption mechanisms. These results indicate that MCM-41/Ag2O nanomaterials are a promising and efficient adsorbent material suitable for the removal of I− for practical application.

BackgroundRecurrent nodal disease often occurs in recurrent laryngeal nerve inlet zone (RLNIZ), leading to difficult surgical management.MethodsMedical records of 947 patients with PTC and 33 patients with recurrent PTC were retrospectively reviewed. Totally 169 sides of RLNIZ dissection in 152 patients (17 cases were bilateral and 135 cases were unilateral) with primary surgery and 4 patients with structural recurrent disease were included for the analysis.ResultsThe rate of lymph node metastasis in RLNIZ was 31.3% (47/150). The incidence of transient hypoparathyroidism was 5.9% and no RLN injury and permanent hypoparathyroidism occurred. RLNIZ lymph nodes metastasis (LNM) was significantly associated with age

In order to solve the problem of non-ideal training sets (i.e., the less-complete or over-complete sets) and implement one-iteration learning, a novel efficient quantum perceptron algorithm based on unitary weights is proposed, where the singular value decomposition of the total weight matrix from the training set is calculated to make the weight matrix to be unitary. The example validation of quantum gates {H, S, T, CNOT, Toffoli, Fredkin} shows that our algorithm can accurately implement arbitrary quantum gates within one iteration. The performance comparison between our algorithm and other quantum perceptron algorithms demonstrates the advantages of our algorithm in terms of applicability, accuracy, and availability. For further validating the applicability of our algorithm, a quantum composite gate which consists of several basic quantum gates is also illustrated.